Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/26/gov_gives_nod_to_scotland_domain_name/
UK.gov gives nod to .scot
Ye can take oor lives but ye'll nivver take our gTLDom
Posted in Hosting, 26th March 2012 12:59 GMT
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While the Coalition government may oppose Scottish independence, it has nevertheless given the go-ahead to a Scottish move for independence on the internet.
The UK government has reportedly granted Dot Scot Registry, a not-for-profit company, with approval to apply for .scot, a new internet top-level domain.
The wannabe registry can now apply to domain name policy oversee ICANN for .scot, paying a $185,000 (£116,970) application fee for the privilege.
Under ICANN rules, any proposed new gTLD that purports to represent a geographic region needs to get a letter of approval or non-objection from the relevant local government.
Dot Scot Registry now has that letter, according to The Scotsman [1] .
A spokesperson for Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told the newspaper: “Scotland is well on the road to independence, and it looks like we will soon be independent in cyberspace too – the dotScot domain name will be a great boost in promoting Scotland around the globe.”
The Scotland Office is reportedly "relaxed" about the move.
Elsewhere in the UK, plans are afoot at .uk registry Nominet [2] to apply for both .wales and .cymru to represent Wales in English and Welsh.
Official London PR agency London & Partners has also put out a call for partners for a .london bid, but has not yet announced a winner a month after saying [3] it would do so.
ICANN's deadline for new gTLD application registrations is looming: last call will be this Thursday. ®